Search

ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify factors affecting the psychological well-being of family caregivers of dependent older adults in Italy. Understanding these variables is essential for designing interventions to prevent negative outcomes in at-risk caregivers. The research explored how varying levels of caregiving burden and types of perceived social support influence psychological well-being.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 387 family caregivers of older adults in the Marche region (Italy) between November 2019 and March 2020. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire assessing psychological well-being (WHO-5 Well-Being Index), caregiving burden, and social support (COPE Index). Statistical analyses were performed using Jamovi software, with a significance threshold set at p

Following preliminary underwater observations of about 1000 h carried out monthly between 2012 and 2023 (except the years 2021 and 2022), 23 specimens of grey reef sharks were spotted and photo-identified off the coast of Nosy Be in Madagascar, on an emerging reef called “Mokarran” at a depth between 15 and 30 m. Over 10 years of observations, eight specimens were re-sighted, identified with a non-invasive photo-identification technique of part of the first dorsal and the caudal fin, and one specimen was re-identified after 1982 days from the first sighting, i.e., after more than 5 years. In addition, six specimens of probably pregnant females were also identified in the same area. The population was entirely made up of females. The aggregation area could represent a new nursery site which, if confirmed after further investigations, will require greater protection.

Knowledge about the social behavior of sharks is a growing research field, but not many observations are available on the social interactions between pairs of sharks in the presence of passive surface bait and mainly related to aggregations. Between 2009 and 2018, in Gansbaai, South Africa, 415 white sharks were sighted, and 525 surface-generated social interactions were identified, exhibited by 169 different white sharks. The mean sighting rate was 0.91 (range 0.18–1.53) white sharks per hour. Eight patterns of social interaction were exhibited: swim by, parallel swim, follow/give way, follow, give way, stand back, splash fights, and piggyback. Non-random interactions occurred when pairs of specimens approached the passive surface bait, confirming that the white sharks made a real choice, showing a dominance hierarchy during the ten years of data collection. Evidence of non-random social interactions in the surface behavior of bait-attracted white sharks Carcharodon carcharias in Gansbaai’s transient population was the goal of this research.

The influence of environmental factors on prey discrimination of bait-attracted white sharks was studied over a six-year period (2008–2013) at Dyer Island Nature Reserve (Gansbaai, South Africa). Across 240 bait-attracted feeding events observed in this period, both immature and mature white sharks were attracted by the seal-shaped decoy rather than the tuna bait, except for the years 2008 and 2011. Tide ranges, underwater visibility, water temperature, and sea conditions were, in decreasing order, the factors which drove white sharks to select the seal-shaped decoy. High tide lowered the minimum depth from which sharks could approach seals close to the shore, while extended visibility helped the sharks in making predatory choices towards the more energy-rich prey source, the odorless seal-shaped decoy. On the contrary, warmer water is associated with an increase in phytoplankton that reduces underwater visibility and increases the diversity of teleosts including tuna—a known prey of white sharks—driving the sharks to favor the tuna bait. Overall, sea conditions were almost always slightly rough, ensuring a good average underwater visibility. Recommendations for future research work at this site are presented.

This paper improves the existing literature on the shrinkage of high dimensional model and parameter spaces through Bayesian priors and Markov Chains algorithms. A hierarchical semiparametric Bayes approach is developed to overtake limits and misspecificity involved in compressed regression models. Methodologically, a multicountry large structural Panel Vector Autoregression is compressed through a robust model averaging to select the best subset across all possible combinations of predictors, where robust stands for the use of mixtures of proper conjugate priors. Concerning dynamic analysis, volatility changes and conditional density forecasts are addressed ensuring accurate predictive performance and capability. An empirical and simulated experiment are developed to highlight and discuss the functioning of the estimating procedure and forecasting accuracy.

Between the years 2008 and 2013, six annual research expeditions were carried out at Dyer Island (Gansbaai, South Africa) to study the surface behaviour of white sharks in the presence of two passive prey: tuna bait and a seal-shaped decoy. Sightings were performed from a commercial cage-diving boat over 247 h; 250 different white sharks, with a mean total length (TL) of 308 cm, were observed. Of these, 166 performed at least one or more interactions, for a total of 240 interactions with bait and the seal-shaped decoy. In Gansbaai, there is a population of transient white sharks consisting mainly of immature specimens throughout the year. Both mature and immature sharks preferred to prey on the seal-shaped decoy, probably due to the dietary shift that occurs in white sharks whose TL varies between 200 cm and 340 cm. As it is widely confirmed that white sharks change their diet from a predominantly piscivorous juvenile diet to a mature marine mammalian diet, it is possible that Gansbaai may be a hunting training area and that sharks show a discriminate food choice, a strategy that was adopted by the majority of specimens thanks to their ability to visualize energetically richer prey, after having been attracted by the odorous source represented by the tuna bait.

This paper improves a standard Structural Panel Bayesian Vector Autoregression model in order to jointly deal with issues of endogeneity, because of omitted factors and unobserved heterogeneity, and volatility, because of policy regime shifts and structural changes. Bayesian methods are used to select the best model solution for examining if international spillovers come from multivariate volatility, time variation, or contemporaneous relationship. An empirical application among Central-Eastern and Western Europe economies is conducted to describe the performance of the methodology, with particular emphasis on the Great Recession and post-crisis periods. A simulated example is also addressed to highlight the performance of the estimating procedure. Findings from evidence-based forecasting are also addressed to evaluate the impact of an ongoing pandemic crisis on the global economy.

This paper provides an overview of a time-varying Structural Panel Bayesian Vector Autoregression model that deals with model misspecification and unobserved heterogeneity problems in applied macroeconomic analyses when studying time-varying relationships and dynamic interdependencies among countries and variables. I discuss what its distinctive features are, what it is used for, and how it can be analytically derived. I also describe how it is estimated and how structural spillovers and shock identification are performed. The model is empirically applied to a set of developed European economies to illustrate the functioning and the ability of the model. The paper also discusses more recent studies that have used multivariate dynamic macro-panels to evaluate idiosyncratic business cycles, policy-making, and spillover effects among different sectors and countries.